Simple Legal Question

[Tidybuoy]

I have a simple legal question. First I must say that I am guilty and my question only pertains to one item.

I parked in a no-parking zone. I did not see the sign when I parked but it was definately there and I saw it after my car had been towed.

To get my car out of impound, I had to pay the local police a $184 fine. Then I had to pay the tow company for towing and 4 days storage (this was because the car was towed on Friday and I couldn't get the car until Monday).

So I call the tow company and they tell me $330 for towing & storage. I felt that was rediculous but I'm at their mercy. I pouted for a short time and then went down to pick up my car.

While the guy is getting my paperwork, I notice that their fees are listed on a sign as $30 per day storage, $145 for towing. This addes to $265 NOT $330. So I ask the guy whatt the extra $70 fee is for and he says "it's on the receipt". I say "I see it's on the receipt but what is it for - it says lein". He tells me that I will receive paperwork from the DMV.

Why would they put a lean on my car - I can only assum that this is in case I don't pick the car up and pay the towing - but I did pick it up and it was only in their possession for the weekend.

I'm going to check with the DMV to see if any lean was actually ever filed.

I'm wondering if they did not file any type of lean and just charged me their standard $70 fee - is this fraud? And, how would I proceed getting my $70 back.

The $70 is immaterial in the grand scheme but I feel ripped off after being butt fu%&ed and I feel the need to return the favor.

Any advice would be welcomed......Vern

[widgeon13]

Can you charge the tow fee to a credit card and then contest the charge?

[teenerted1]

put it on a credit card and despute the charge after you get billed

[widgeon13]

Wouldn't a lien only be charged if the vehicle was not claimed? Sounds a little silly but a lien would be charged by the tow company and then passed along to DMV to collect.

[Tidybuoy]

I did pay with a credit card but I won't contest any charges until after I check with the DMV to see is a lean was filed. The last thing I need is to get arrested over this. But, I feel that if they charged me for "lean paperwork filed" they better damm well have filed it.

[McLovin]

It's possible that the lot gets a lien on the car immediately upon putting it in the lot. It wouldn't seem out of the ordinary for a lot to immediately file a lien upon getting a car, that puts their lien in as good of a priority position as possible. Then, when you pay, they release the lien.

That's just a guess, though. He did say you'd get some papers from the DMV, my guess is he's talking about some kind of lien release confirmation.

I'd try calling the DMV, they can probably give you more specific information about the lien procedure, and certainly can tell you if there was actually a lien recorded by the lot against your car.

[KevinP73]

I just talked to the OPG in Burbank, he said they wait 5 days before filing the lein papers.

[john70t]

I thought a lien was only possible after a reasonable time/effort to collect?
If they charge for a lien and it wasn't filed, you may have case for a class action if others have been damaged the same way. An internet keyword search may bring results.
The BAR has referals and 1hr reviews for something like $30-40, or mabye a contingency.

If this was public property, mabye a city ticket was due first(same $$ less hassle).

[MRM]

You probably have some outstanding parking ticket that you forgot about. $70 sounds about right for an old parking ticket plus penalties and fees. My guess is that the old ticket went into default and the final amount was charged against your car via a lien with the DMV. It gets paid off whenever your car comes into contact with the system - such as being towed or sold.

The only other thing I can think of is that the property owner (assuming you were inadvertently parked on private property) charges a fee for the illegal parking, and somehow immediately places a lien on your car as it is towed. But that doesn't seem very likely.

Of course they cannot charge you an additional $70 service fee on top of their regular charges for no reason. Their fees are set by local ordinance. But I can promise you that whatever fee they charge you is valid and will be supported by law and paperwork. These people make a living out of towing people. They know what they are doing better than anyone in the world. There is no way they'll risk their livelihood by charging an improper fee, but there's no way they would pass up any legal chance to extract every last cent from you they could.

I'm pretty sure there's some fine or fee you owed to the state that you didn't know about that is the DMV lien. That's the only thing that explains their "DMV lien" story. If it was something else they wouldn't have called it a DMV lien. Since the reffer to it as a DMV lien, that really suggests some state or local agency was involved.

[Tidybuoy]

Originally Posted by MRM

You probably have some outstanding parking ticket that you forgot about.

I have no outstanding anything...my record is spotless.

[Christien]

$70 for a lien seems way too high to me. Of course prices vary, but liens here are $8/year to register (min. 1 year), free to discharge. That's if you file it with the gov't yourself. If you use a process server, standard rate is $2-5 service charge to register and discharge. Grand total would be max $18.

Do a lien search on your VIN - check the DMV website - chances are it's a publicly searchable database (it is here). Worst case scenario go through a process server for a couple extra bucks. Searches here are $8 also. See if a lien was ever registered against your vehicle - if not, you'd have good grounds to contest the bill.